THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: The Conference will open at 10:00 am. Conference
Chair, Satya Nandan, is expected to present opening remarks,
followed by a statement from the new legal counsel for the UN
Office of Legal Affairs, Hans Corell. The Chair should move
immediately to the first item of business, the adoption of the
agenda for this session. Nandan is expected to give an overview of
the programme of work for the coming three weeks. The Conference
will then turn to consideration of the FAO papers. It is possible
that Brian Tobin, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada will
make a key speech today.

NGO ACTIVITIES: A caucus group of North American NGOs will
deliver a press briefing on the 12th floor of the Church Center at
10:00 am. Greenpeace and the International Collective of
Fishworkers will give their formal press briefing on Tuesday, at a
venue to be announced. Look for documents to be circulated in
response to the Chair's negotiating text, possibly in the form of
an alternative negotiating document. A series of NGO papers should
also be available on the principal technical issues of this session
to include the MSY concept, the Precautionary Approach and
Precautionary Principle. At the conclusion of the first substantive
session, NGOs failed to reach consensus around the core points of
the Chair's negotiating text. Look for NGOs over the next several
days to maintain roundtable activities towards reaching a more
concerted approach.

IN THE CORRIDORS: The Convention for the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) could well play an
important role in this session of the Conference. It is seen by
many as the first international instrument to recognize the
importance of an ecosystems approach. On the one hand, some NGOs
draw upon CCAMLR as an approach that should be replicated in the
current process. On the other hand, at the last Conference of
Parties, some States expressed their willingness to see CCAMLR
participate in the Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks Conference as a regional organization. Look for some States
that are party to CCAMLR to reflect this view in the upcoming
debates.